Strengthened by the Holy Spirit

October 10, 2011

But you, my friends, must fortify yourselves in your most sacred faith. Continue to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God, and look forward to the day when our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy will give eternal life. Jude 20-21 New English Bible

Fortify yourselves in your most sacred faith. These verses show us ways we can be strengthened. We need strength from God because the things He has called us to do cannot be achieved by our own human effort. “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:4b).

Continue to pray in the power of the Holy Spirit. Aren’t you glad that God sent the Holy Spirit? He is the fortifier and strengthener, and His “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12 NKJV) is available to guide and lead us. The spiritual effects of praying in the Spirit are similar to the physical effects of exercise. Prayer will fortify you so that you won’t faint or lose heart (Luke 18:1). Instead, you can be strengthened “with power through His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16).

Keep yourselves in the love of God. To stay in the love walk with others, we must first understand our spiritual roots: that we are loved and accepted by God. When Jesus comes into our world, He changes us on the inside. Instead of bitterness controlling us, “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

[I pray] That He [The Lord] would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19

The fruit of the Spirit can work in your life. As we fortify ourselves by getting in the Word, praying in the Spirit, and continually walking in love, we will become more sensitive to the subtle promptings of the Holy Spirit. We will walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. We will be less dull and more perceptive, less static and more dynamic, less fleshly and more spiritual! We will grow stronger, and the fruit of the Spirit will show up powerfully in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Ephesians 5:22-23

God bless you!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2011 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.